Apparatus for enameling



April 30 1929 J. M. SULLIVAN APPARATUS FOR ENAMELING Filed Aug. 5, 1925 C5 Sheets-Sheet Q R x w N n? n N @NN Nn. a., WV

April 30, 1929. M. SULLIVAN 1,710,953

APPARATUS FOR ENAMELING Filed Aug. 5. 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 sz .'ffel' Il: 'e7 JI i 1 24 39 I l f 26 lli 2 42 l 40 59 35 5 5 5 as 37 5g 45 4i 44 45 J7 /m/wra/P J. M. .JmL/VAN A r rap/v5 VJ April 30, 1929. J. M. SULLIVAN APPARATUS FOR ENAMELING Filed Aug. 5, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet /Nvf/vron J M. 5w. 1. VAN

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Patented Apr. v30, i929.-

mossa UNITED STATES PATENT carica.

JOHN SULLIVAN, OF 8T. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO WROUGHT IRON RANGE COMPANY, F STJ- LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION 0F MISSOURI.

.APPARATUS FOR EAMELING.

Application med August 5, i925. seriai mi. 48,197.

lhis invention relates generally to apparatus for enameling, and particularly to an apparatus for applying the liquid vitreous coinposition to the articles -to be enameled, the

main object of the invention being to provide a meanswhereby the application 'and drying ofthe vitreous co position-may be accomplished in a continiibus operation.

Prior to this vinvention various forms of ap- 10 paratus have 'been provided distributingithe iquid enamel on articles to be enameled. The common practice was to spray the articles with the.com ositon, although at times, particularlyin t e case of the ground coat, said composition was applied by dipping the arti-J cles'in a vessel containing a body of said composition. Both ofthe methods mentioned and all other methods with whichI am familiar involve the continual manual handling of the articles, as in the case of thespraying method the articles have to be set up in a booth and manually sprayed, while in the case of the dipping method the articles are manually dipped. After the composition1 has been placed on the articles in 'accordance with either of the methods mreferred to, it was necessary 'to transportsaid articles to a drying room where the composition would bev prop` erly dried, after which the final baking operation would be performed. The apparatus and method disclosed in the present application provide means whereby the articles are 'sprayed and the composition dried in a conf tinuous operation, vsaid articles being placed in the apparatus at one of its ends and being sprayed and dried during their passage :through said apparatus, so. that vvhenj they havecom leted a passage through the apparatus sai articles are ready for the baking operation.-

` With the' foregoing and other objects in .view, the invention comprises/the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts'hefreinafter more specifically described .and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein is` shown the preferred embodiment of the-invention. However, it is to be understood that the invention comprehends A`anges, variations and modifications which come within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

I is a vertical section of my improved enameling apparatus.

Filg. II is a vertical section of the spraying apparatus, which comprises a spraying booth B and a drying tunnel C. B is arranged atene end C and the interior of said communication with the ing tunnel, through the medium of an aperure 1 formedgin a Wall of said spraying booth. he sprayingv booth preferably comprises a vertically arranged sheet metal hA using 2 having a hopper-shaped bottom Wal 3, and located below said housing 2 is a tube 4 which provides a means of communication between The spraying booth of the drying tunnel spraying booth is in l interior of said dry-.i

the interior of the housing 2 and the interior of a housing 5 arranged below said housing 2. Located within the housin" is a receptacle 6;

said receptacle being slida ly arranged within said housing 5 and being open at the top so that liquid, which passes from the interior of the housing 2 through the tube 4, will flow into said receptacle -(Fig. I). The Wallof the sprayingvbooth B opposite to the Wall thereof -which is provided with the aperture 1 is provided With a similar aperture 1, and said apertures 1 and l are in alinement with each other. A

`The drying tunnel C of my improved apparatus is in the form of an elongated housing 'of considerable length, said tunnel comprising a sheet metal bottom wall C which extends from end to end of said-tunnel, one end of said bottom vwall being secured to the Spraying booth B. The upper lportion of the drying tunnel C at the end thereof which is adjacent to the spraying booth B is formed ofr a curved sheet of metal 7 which provides the side and top walls of a housing 7 said sheet of metal 7 like the bottom Wall C', being secured to the spraying booth B. At the end of thel drying ltunnel opposite to the end .thereof which is adjacent to the spraying booth a similar sheet metal housing 8 is provided, there beinga curved sheet of'metal 8, associated with the bottom wall C 1n a manner to produce a, housing semi-circular in cross section. The housing 8 is provided with an end wall 8a. having an aperture 9 formed therethrough. Intermediate. of the sheet metal housings 7 and 8 the drying tunnel C includes, in addition to the bottom wall C", a plurality of inverted U-shaped strips 10, which are secured to said bottom wall C', and a plurality of strips 11 extended longitudinally 'of said drying tunnel. 12 designates a sheet of canvas or similar heavy fabric which is secured to the sheet metal housings 7 and 8 and to the uppermost longitudinal strip 11.

The sheet of canvas 12 normally is arranged as shown in Fig. V, that is, with said canvas sheet constituting an inverted U-shaped wall which is supported by the transverse strips 10 and the longitudinal strips 11. The sheet of canvas 12 is provided with pockets which extend longitudinally of said sheet of canvas at the side edges thereof. in which pockets elongated rods or pipes 13 are arranged. so that Said sheet of canvas will be drawn downwardly and retained in its proper position when it is in the posit-ion as shown in Fig. V. If desired the sheet of canvas 12 mav be rolled up to gain access to the interior of the drying tunnel C, the rods or pipes 13 being rotated and moved upwardly, thus rolling said sheet of canvas about said rods or pipes 13. 14 designates legs by means 0f which the spraying booth B and drying tunnel C are supported. f

Arranged transversely of the apparatus in suitable bearings and at the work-receiving end of said apparatus is a shaft 15 on which is mounted for rotation a plurality of grooved pulleys 16. The pulleys 16 are s aced apart from each other longitudinally f the shaft 15 and said shaft and pulleys are. driven in a manner which will be hereinafter set forth. Located at the opposite or discharge end of the apparatus is a plurality of pulleys 17 which are similar insh ape and size to the pulleys 16 referred to, and said pulleys 17 are alined with said pulleys`16. Each individual pulley 17 is rotatably supported by a bifurcated member 18 secured to and capable of pivotal movement about a transverse pivot.

19. Also, each individual pivoted member 18 has associated with it a turnbuckle 20 whereby the pulley 17 'at the upper end of said pivoted member may be adjusted toward and away from the drying tunnel C. Supported by the alined pairs of pulleys 16 and 17 is a plurality of endless cables 21. said cables being spaced apart from each other in a transverse direction with respect to the apparatus, as shown in Fig. Il. and the upper and lower flights of the various cables being arranged in horizontal alinement. When the apparatus is in use the shaft 15 and pulleys 16 are rotated and the upper flights of the endless cables are driven in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. I. The upper flights of the cables 21 pass through the spraying booth B and dryingitunnel C, said upper flights of said cables operating through the apertures 1, 1 and 9, and Said upper flights of said cables being supported by rollers 22 arranged within said spraying booth and drying tunnel. Also the lower flights of the cables 21 are supported by rollers 22 rotatably fixed to the legs 14. It is apparent from the foregoing that the horizontally alined upper flights of the cables 21 form a traveling bed on which the articles to be enameled may be placed to cause said articles to move through the apparatus. It is also plain that the endless cables may be individually tightened by manipulating the turnbuckles 20.

Supported upon the spraying booth B is a vertically arranged supporting member 23 provided with bearings 24 in which a perpendicular tube 25 is rotatably arranged, the lower portion of said perpendicular tube being extended through an aperture in the top Wall of the spraying booth B. The tube 25 has fixed to it a bevel gear 26. which meshes with a smaller bevel gear 27 mounted on a horizontal shaft 28. The shaft 28 is also provided with a conical pulley 29. Arranged at the. upper end of the supporting member 23 is a horizontal shaft 30 on Which is mounted a conical pulley 31 similar to and in vertical alinement with the conical pulley 29. The shaft 30 is also provided with an ordinary pulley 32 over which a driving belt 33 operates. A second driving belt 34 operates over the. conical pulleys 29 and 31 whereby motion which is transmitted to the shaft 30 by the belt 33 will in turn' be transmitted to the shaft 28 and bevel gear 27. thus rotating the tube 25 through the medium ofthe bevel gear 26.

Fixed to the perpendicular tube 25 adjacent to its lower end is a collar 25 provided with horizontally arranged arms 35 in the form of rods. and fixed to the arms 35 at the outer ends thereof are spraying devices 36. The collar 25 is fixed to the tube 25 by means of a. set screw 25, and said collar is capable of being moved vertically of said tube and being fixed in various positions thereon. The spraying devices 36 comprise vertically arranged conductors 37 at the lower ends of which ordinary spraying nozzles 38 are provided. Associated with the spraying devices 36 are clamps 39 which are located at the upper ends of the conductors. 37 and encircle the arms 35. The clamps 39 are in the form of split members provided with bolts 40 spraying devices may fixed sin various positions on the arms 35 by merely causing the clamps to grip said arms.

41 designates a conductor which is arranged within the erpendicular tube 25. The conductor 41 is o considerably less diameter than the tube 25, vso that an annularspace 42 is produced between the outer face of the conductor 41 and the inner yface of the tube 25 (Fig. II) The upper end of the conductor 41 is extended into a stationary hollow member 43 forming a part of the supporting member 23, and said upper end of said conductor 41 is rotatable within said stationary hollow member 43 The lower end portion of said conduto 41 extends downwardly beyond the lower end of theperpendicular tube 25, anda T-tting 44 is Secured to said conductor 41 at the lower end thereof. 45 des-- ignates flexible hollow conductors which connect the opposite ends of th T-tting 44 to the opposrtely disposed spraying devices 36 and thereby rovide means of communi-l cation between t e interior of the conductor 41 and the interiors of the spraying devices, thus providing for the passage of fluid from said conductor 41 to and through said spraying devices. i

46 designates a conductor which leads from a supply tank S (Fig. I) to the passageway 43y formed through 'the stationar member 43, said conductor 46 being provi ed with a valve 47 for controlling the passage of fluid through said conductor.

The upper and lower ends of the perpendicular tube 25 are provided with plugs 48 -which are inserted into said upper and lowerends of said tube to seal same, said plugs being vprovided with central apertures through which the conductor 41 asses, and saidplugs preferably being welde to the perpendicular tube 25 and to the conductor 41, so that said tube and conductor will rotate as a unit. 49 designates flexible hollow connectors which extend from vthe lower end portion of the tube 25 to the spraying devices 36, said hollow connectors providing means of communication between the annular space 42'within said tube 25 and the interiors of said spraying devices. 50 designates a stationary hollow member which comprises a part of the supporting member 23, said stationary member being provided with an annular passageway 51' which is exposed at the face of the passageway extended through said member.` The annular passageway 51 is in communication with a passageway 52 which extends transversely through the wall of the member 50, and said passageway 52 receives aonductor" 53 which is screwed into said passageway. Formed through the` wall of the tube 25 at such points that they communicate with'the annular passageway 51 is f a lplurality of. apertures 54. said apertures 54 being in a row which extends entirely around the tube 25.

55 designates stuffing boxes which provide fluid-tight joints above and below the member 50.

In the use of my improved apparatus, power being applied-to the shaft 50 and the cables driven in the direction indicated by' the arrow in Fig. I, the articles to be enameledare placed on the upper flights of the cables at the point indicated by the reference character W inFig. I and said articles passed into and through the spraying booth B. The notor M, which is in operation, will transmit rotary motion to the shaft 30 through the medium of the driving belt 33 and pulley 32, and said motion will be vthen transmitted through the medium of the pulleys 29 and 31 and belt 34 to the beveln gear 27, and from said bevel gear 27 to the bevel gear 26. The bevel gear 26, being fixed tothe perpendicular tube 25, will rotate said tube about its vertical axis, and because the spraying devices 36 are carried ,by said tube 25 saild spraying devices will likewise be rotated. The vitreous enameling composition is contained within the tank S and said composition will pass through the conductor 41 and through the flexible hollow connectors 45 to thetspraying devices 36. At the same time compressed air will pass through the conductor 53 from a suitable source and through the passageway 52 to the annular passageway 51. From the annular passageway 51 said'compressed air will pass through the apertures 54 into the annular space 42 within the tube 25, whence` said compressed air passes through the hol low -ilexible connectors to the spraying devices 36. The compressed air which is forced through the nozzles 38 while the apparatus is"in operation creates a strong suction in the spraying devices which forges the enameling composition from said nozzles in the form of a line spray which is deposited on the articles being treated as said articles move slowly beneath the rotating nozzles. It is apparent that because the set screw 25n may be unscrewed and the collar 25 moved vertically of the tube 25, the nozzles may be arranged at the proper distance from the articles being enameled, and also the nozzles may be adjusted toward and away from the tube 25, as already described, to provide for enameling articles of different horizontal dimensions. f The thickness of the coat of enameling comosition deposited on the articles is reguated by the speed at which the cables travel through the spraying booth, for it is plain that 1f the passage of articles is compara- .tively rapid fewer rotations of the spraying devices will be made While said articles are passing through the spraying booth than if the passage of said articles were slower. Because of the foregoing I have provided my improved apparatus with means whereby the speed of travel of the cables may be regulated, said means comprising a housing within which a pair of spaced apart shafts 61 and 62 are arranged. Feathered on the shaft 61 is a pair of conical pulleys 63, and feathered on the shaft 62 is a pair of conical pulleys 64. 65 designates a belt which operates over the oppositely disposed pairs of pulleys 63 and 64. 66 designates a lever pivoted to a stationary rod 67 at the point indicated by the reference character 68, and 69 designates a similar lever pivoted to the stationary rod 67 at the point indicated by the reference character 70. The pulleys 63 are provided with hub portions having annular grooves 71 into which pins 72 at the ends of the levers 66 and 69 extend. Also, the pulleys 64 are provided with hub portions having annular grooves into which pins 73 carried by the levers 66 and 69 extend. 74 designates a rotatable rod having right and left hand threads, said rod being supported within the housing 60 and being provided with a hand wheel arranged outside of said housing whereby said rod may be conveniently' rotated. Mounted on the threaded portions of the rod 74 are internally threaded members 75 which are adapted to travel longitudinally of the rod 74 when said rod is rotated, one of said members 75 being pivotallv connected to the lever 66 and the other of said members being pivotally connected to the lever 69.

76 designatesa motor having a pinion 77 associated therewith which meshes with a relatively large gear wheel 78 on the shaft 61 wherebysaid shaft 61 may be rotated by said motor. Mounted on the shaft 62 is a Worm 79 which meshes with a worm wheel 80 on the shaft 15. When my improved apparatus is in use rotary motion is transmitted by the motor 76 to the shaft 61 through the medium of the pinion 77 and gear wheel 78, said rotary lnotion being transmitted from said shaft 61 to the shaft 62 by the belt 65 and from said shaft 62 to the shaft 15 through the medium of the worm 79 and worm wheel 80. It is apparent, therefore, that the motor 76 constitutes the means for driving the cables 21 and it is likewise plain that if the hand wheel on the rod 74 were rotated the associated pulley`63 and the associated pulley 64 would be moved toward or away from each other, as the case may be, thus increasing or reducing the diameter of the curvatures at the ends of the belt 65 and thereby regulating the speed of the shaft 15. By referring to Fig. II it will be seen that the speed of the spraying mechanism may also be regulated by merely moving the belt 34 longitudinally of the conical pulleys 29 and 31.

81 designates a receptacle in which water or other fluid is contained. and 82 designates a shaft arranged in suitable bearings immediately above said receptacle. Mounted on said shaft 82 is a plurality of rotary brushes 83, there being one brush for each individual cable 21 and said brushes being so arranged that the lower portions thereof are submerged beneath the water in the receptacle 81 and the periphery of said brushes in contact with the cables 21 as they pass over the pulley 16. In this way any enameling composition which may be adherin to the cables 21 will be brushed therefrom fore a. new article is placed on said cables for passage through the apparatus. Rotary motion is transmitted to the shaft 82 through the medum of a gear wheel 82 on the shaft 15 which meshes with a smaller gear wheel 82b on said shaft 82.

To effect the drying of the enameling composition on the articles as said articles pass through the drying tunnel C I employ a housing 83 within which is arranged a coil 84 through which a heating medium, such as steam, is passed to produce heat within said housing 83. 85 designates a rotary blower which is utilized to force air through a conductor into the housing 83 and through said housing 83 into and through a conductor 86 which places the interior of the housing 83 in communication with the interior of the drying tunnel C. When the apparatus is in y use air is forced through the heated linterior of the housing 83, whereby said air is heated, said air then being passed through the drying tunnel C, thus drying the enameling compound on the articles passing through said drying tunnel.

In Fig. IV I illustrate a modified form of my invention. This form of the invention is intended for placing coats of enameling composition on both sides of the articles being treated instead of on one side only, as is the case with th'e preferred form of the invention. In the form shown in Fig. IV a single endless cable 21 is employed, and the article being treated, which is designated by the reference character X in Fig. IV, is suspended from the upper flight of said cable by means of a hook 87. The means for spraying the articles as shown in Fig. IV is the same as th'e spraying means illustrated in the preferred form of my invention, except that the tubes 25". instead of being perpendicular as in the preferred construction, are horizontally arranged, and instead of a single spraying mechanism at one side of the article being treated a pair of synchronously operated spraying mechanisms are employed which spray the opposite faces of the articles.

I claim:

1. An enameling apparatus comprising a housing, a rotary spraying device including a nozzle within said housing adapted to emit liquid enameling composition, traveling means passing through said housing, said traveling means being adapted to carry the article being enameled through said housing whereby said article is sprayed with enameling composition, means whereby said nozzle may be adjusted toward and away from said traveling means to fixed spraying positions, and means whereby the speed of travel of said traveling means may be regulated.

.2. An enameling apparatus comprising a housing, a rotary1 spraying ndevice within said housing adapted to emit liquid/enameling composition, traveling-means passing through said housing, said traveling means ,being adapted to carry thearticle being enameled'through said housing whereby said article is sprayed with enameling composition, means whereby the speed of travel of said traveling means may be regulated, and means whereby the Speed of rotation of said rotary spraying device may be regulated.

3.' An apparatus for enameling comprising a housing, a rotary spraying device within said housing adapted to emit liquid enameling composition, a dryin compartment in communication with said iousing, traveling means passing-through said housing and said drying compartment, Jsaid traveling means being adapted to carry the article being enameled through said housing and said di'yin (T compartment whereby said article is sprayed with enameling composition and said composition dried, means whereby the speed of travel of said traveling means may be regulated, means whereby the speed of rotation of said rotary spraying device may be regulated, and means whereby drying fluid may be passed-through said drying compartment.

4. An apparatus for enameling comprising a housing, a spraying device, said spraying device comprising a tube, a nozzle carrier fixed to said tube and adjustable longitudinally thereof, a nozzle supported b said nozzle carrier and adjustable relative t ereto, and means whereby said tube may be rotated.

5. An apparatus for enameling comprising a housing, a spraying device, said spraying device comprising a conductor through which liqiid enameling composition is passed, a tu e surroundin said conductor and extending longitudinal y thereof, said tube being of greater diameter than said conductor so that an annular space is provided within said tube between the inside face of said tube and the outside face of said conductor through which space compressed air is passed, a nozzle carrier fixed to said tube and adjustable longitudinally thereof, said nozzle carrier including laterally extended arms, a pair of oppositely disposed nozzles supported by said laterally extended arms, said nozzles being adjustable longitudinally of said laterally extended arms, flexible means connecting said conductor and said annular space with said nozzles, and means whereby said tube may be rotated.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I hereunto afiix my signature.

J. M. SULLIVAN. 

